EAST-WEST SHOWCASES INDIGENOUS VEGETABLES

INDIGENOUS VEGETABLES are native to a particular region or environment. Most indigenous varieties are grown in rural areas in small plots by small farming families. Indigenous vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals, and good for the health. In the Philippines, popular indigenous vegetables are alugbati, katuray, kulitis, kadyos, kalabasa, pako, saluyot, sayote, malunggay, sigarilyas, labong, and others.

However, indigenous vegetables are not popular and seldom eaten in urban areas. The supply of these types of vegetables is limited and quality is not consistent. Indigenous vegetables are mostly OP’s (out-of-place) and not given attention in terms of breeding programs by most seed companies.

In Thailand, East-West Seed saw an opportunity and recently launched its Skunk indigenous vegetables pilot project. As part of its 35 years anniversary, it showcased 35 varieties of Thai indigenous vegetables in its demo activity attended by hundreds of visitors in Chiang Mai. This will help ensure that native vegetables that have been part of Thai diet for many generations will remain available in the market at an affordable cost.

By making available quality seeds to nonprofessional growers, home farming and home gardening segment who mainly grow indigenous vegetables for their own consumption, it can help increase farmer’s income. The company launched a wide range of indigenous vegetable varieties with better uniform quality, yield and performance than the competitors. It also provided useful information on cultivation and crop management techniques.

This Skunk indigenous vegetables is primarily focused in Thailand and will expand to other markets later, such as in India.